That is the maximum allowed by the state and would be an increase of $4.4 million or 8.9-percent when compared to the school district's current property tax levy.

The School Board has traditionally set the preliminary levy at the maximum allowed by the state and then looked at ways to lower the amount before the final levy is adopted in December. If the 2017 the preliminary levy is compared to the 2016 preliminary levy adopted last September, the increase is around 2.5-percent.